


Safe at Home

by 2012summerstar



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Character Bashing, Child Abuse, Drinking to Cope, Emotional Manipulation, F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Past Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-13
Updated: 2015-06-07
Packaged: 2018-03-12 06:52:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3347654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2012summerstar/pseuds/2012summerstar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Severus Snape is small for your average eleven year old. He wears worn out clothes and his hair is forever covering his face. What he wants to hid from everyone are the bruises that litter his body and face. He lives in fear every day of doing something wrong or making a false move, the threat of a beating from his father always hanging over him. Teachers at school ignore him and so do most other adult and children too. Only one girl has ever noticed his existence. With his mother gone and died three years ago and just a angry drunken father, Will anybody help him to learn that the world does not rest and his shoulders and that his father isn't always right? After a savage beating, will he finally realize that he deserves better than what is thrown at him? Now that he's eleven and off to Hogwarts, will his father let him go and discover how to live? Will new friend be able to help him and family be able to help him feel safe at home?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1-Broken

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first Harry Potter fanfic. I love the Harry Potter books and movies to death; and after reading many many fanfics for it I have decided to write one of my very own.
> 
> Now there are some differences from my story and the way they're originally portrayed and shown Like Severus is a year younger than Lily and the Marauders. He is not in love with Lily but still loves her all the same, like a great big sister that's always there to comfort you when you need to cry. Another thing, James is still spoiled but he will not torment Severus, instead, since Lily is older and got to know James for a year ahead of Severus, he will be nice to her and be willingly to help Severus when he needs it. Same with the rest of them.
> 
> Now most likely this will be Dumbledore bashing since I just get annoyed with his character sometimes. This will have a semi-good Voldemort/Tom Riddle too. I do think he wasn't always bad, he was made into the monster (I don't care what anyone else says, that's what I think.) He will most likely be Severus' mentor or father figure. Also this will be slash, since I really do like certain couples of the Harry Potter universe. There will also be child abuse,so if you don't like any of these things no one is forcing you to read this. Soooo, beware!
> 
> Here are the Pairings for future reference, they are subject to change when ever I want them too: SB/RL JP/LE SS/LM
> 
> Those are the only ones I can think of right now. If anyone remembers other characters in that age group then please tell me cause, even though I love these books and movies I have a horrible memory. I really really do. So yeah... on wards with the story! See you at the bottom.
> 
> Disclaimer: I'm only going to say this once, I do not own Harry Potter or it's characters in any way. the world it's based in is not mine the only thing I own Is the computer this is written upon, even that is on loan.

Safe At Home

Ch. 1 - Broken

I am outside

And I've been waiting for the sun

With my wide eyes

I've seen worlds that don't belong

My mouth is dry

With words I cannot verbalize

Tell me why

We live like this

Keep me safe inside

Your arms like towers

Tower over me, yeah

Cause we are broken

What must we do to restore

Our innocence

And all the promise we adored?

Give us life again

Cause we just wanna be whole.

Paramore-Broken

Severus sat on a bench at the bench in the park. He swung his feet back and forth, enjoying the cool summer breeze that came by. It stung his bruised face but that wasn't anything new; he had his long black hair to cover any damage there. His tattered pants had rips at the knees from wearing them so often and constantly falling down and tripping. His thin t-shirt was starting to thin but it was great for wearing it in the hot summer. He watched the other children in the park play with each other end their parents. He could feel the green monster creep up on him. But he pushed it away as soon as it came, it wasn't his fault that the other children had loving parents and he didn't; but it didn't mean he had to like it.

He let out a slight sigh and continued to just sit there swing his legs. "Severus!" he looked up to see a red hair girl running towards him. Her bright green eyes caught his black and he let a soft small smile grace his lips. He didn't get to smile often, but being around this girl always made him smile. She stopped right in front of him smiling down and then plopping herself down next to him. "Hey there Sevy, how ya doing today?" he made sure to keep his head down so his hair covered his face. He nodded not trusting his voice completely. "Wow, talkative as ever it seems. I'm gone for one school year and you turn into Mr. Social." That earned a soft giggle from the younger boy. She nudged his shoulder with her own, "Come on talk to me a bit. Big sister Lily's ear and shoulder are always open for business for you Severus."

Silence from the child next to here was all she got. She let out sigh as she watched him swing his legs back and forth. "I'm okay Lily Flower. I missed you though. Tunney isn't very fun, she wouldn't play with me when you were away and Daddy didn't let me out when no one was with me. I'm going with you this year though so we can play together all the time right? Like before?" there was eagerness in his voice. He still had not looked up at her, still staring at his old shoes.

"Of course Severus, you're going to Hogwarts this year too. Oh I can't even explain to you how beautiful it is. We can play all the time by the lake and they even have a huge library. You'd love it there, no one even bothers you 'cause the librarian is very strict about keeping it quite and you're always so good at keeping quite." She brought her arms around his shoulders and drew him in close. Even though they were only a year apart from one another it always seemed like he was younger than eleven. He could pass as a seven year old on a good day, he was small in height and his larger clothes seemed to only make him look smaller sometimes.

She wrapped her arms around his shoulder and pulled him against her side. She loved having him curled up against her. It was as if his small warm body relaxed her in a way, she liked to be able to feel his slow breathing to show he was still there and alive. She knew that secretly he liked to be cuddled too. He leaned his head on her shoulder and kicked his feet out and stared at a hole in his shoe.

Though he didn't know she saw, Lily caught a glimpse of the bruise that marred the side of his face. She had no outward reaction, knowing the boy would more than likely run away from here if she called him out on it. But inside she was steaming. 'How dare that man! How dare he! He should never been given custody of Severus! I swear one day, one of these days I will make him pay for all he's done to this child. And he will regret the day he laid hands on him.'

She was snapped out of her thought of revenge when she felt a tug on her sleeve. She looked up and saw Severus giving her pleading eyes. "Look Lily Flower, the swings are open! Can we go play on them? You can push me then I'll push you. Can we?" he pleaded with the older girl who smiled at him. She nodded and stood walking with him towards the swings. "Race you there," she said.

Severus got there first and sat on it with a little help from Lily, why the hell did they make these things so high sometimes. He loved being on the swings, they made him feel weightless. Almost like he was flying; like no one would be able to hurt him if they tried. He reveled in this feeling, pumping his legs as he rose up and fell back down. He giggled as Lily pushed him higher and higher. "I'm so high Lily Flower!" he exclaimed excitedly. "You sure are Sevy." She said back.

This went on for a few more minutes until Severus heard his name being called from a distance. He slowly came to a stop and saw his father standing on the other side of the play ground. His eyes grew wide with fear of being in trouble. He jumped off the swing when he got close to the floor. He looked back at Lily who seemed to be glaring daggers at his father. If looks could kill, he was sure that his father would be six feet under already.

"Bye Lily Flower, I'll see you soon." He said moving closer to where his father was walking towards. "We can get our school stuff together." Lily stated, not leaving any room for argument. Severus just nodded and waved as he ran over to his father. She waved back until he turned his back was turned to her and he couldn't see her. She sighed and started to make her own way home. She hoped he would be okay until they could see each other again; but more than likely they wouldn't until they got their school things or maybe even September 1st. she said a silent prayer for her little friend, vowing to every god, saint and deity that she would find a way to save him. She would be his guardian angel if she had to be, cause only god knew that every adult in his failed to do so.

Severus reached his father after running to where he was across the park. He was grabbed roughly then by his small shoulders and dragged closer to his father. He was shaken hard; fear began to creep up on him, gripping his heart tightly and squeezing the air from his lungs. His father leaned down to him, practically pressing their noses together.

"Where the hell have you been Severus?!" he whispered harshly. Severus just stared wide eyed at him. "Answer me boy or you will be sleeping on your stomach tonight. Where were you?"

"I-I-I…" he pointed towards the play ground behind him. "I-I was a-at the p-play ground with Lily Evans. I told you this morning Daddy. I left a note on the table when I left." His voice was pleading, he wanted his father to believe he wasn't lying to him. He had told him in the morning when he had woken up and had left a note when he had left.

"Don't lie to me Severus Snape, tell me the truth. You know that I don't like you going to the park or anywhere else without me there." His whispers got harsher; he brought his hand up and slapped the small child across the young boy's face. The child gave a gasp of shock and pain; he would've fallen to the floor if his father wasn't still holding on to him. His father looked around and no one had seen or heard them. All the parents in the park were weather far too concerned for their own children they were just pretending no to notice. He scooped the shocked boy in to his arms and began to head back home. "You should not test me child, you know you will always lose. It's your fault that I'm mad, you have to deal with the consequences now."

The terrified child let out a lose sob, his breathe came in gasps. His head rested on his father's shoulder as he stared out at the people walking by them. His little shoulders shook as he sobbed. Tears ran down his cheeks, landing on his father's shirt. Had he really done something so bad that it earned his father's wrath? What had he done? He was sure he had said something to his father about going out today, hadn't he?

He felt his father shift to open the door to their home. He sniffled into his father's shoulder again. His daddy didn't smell like liquor right now so he must be sober, he wouldn't be too mad with him tonight, but best be on his best behavior for now. He felt himself being carried u the stairs, was he being taken to his room? What was going to happen to him? He couldn't stop his tears anymore, was going to the park really this bad?

Severus noticed they passed his own small bed room and were heading for the master bed room, why? His father set him down on the bed so he was lying down. He began to remove his son's shoes, let them fall away; he continued to undo his shirt and pants. He lifted him up from the bed to get the last article of clothing off. Severus stood there in only his white briefs and socks staring wide eyed at his father. The man walked over to the dresser and brought out a large over night shirt. He buttoned up on his son, it reached passed the boy's knees brushing against his shins.

He was once again laid on the bed; his father brushed away his long hair from his face. He saw the large bruise that laid there, he had hit him in the same spot twice already, the dark purple bruise had once again turned red and swollen. He sighed as he made his way to the bathroom, that was joined to the room. "Stay there Severus." He pulled out a small wash cloth and ran it under cold water. He came back and began to wipe the boy's face from the tears. He gently whipped the bruise, and settled the cool cloth on it. "I'm sorry Severus. I didn't mean to hit you so hard. I just got angry. You know not to argue with me, why do you always like getting me mad?"

"I'm sorry Daddy. I didn't mean to, please don't be mad at me anymore, I promise to be good." He moved to sit up but his father stopped him my pushing him down onto the mattress again.

"No, just stay there tonight. I'm going out for a moment and you're going to stay there, if you leave this bed then you will be in really big trouble. Please don't piss me off more Severus." He kissed his child on the head and moved out of the room.

Severus sat up on the bed and looked around his father's room. Did he mean not getting out of bed or not leaving in the room? How would he know anyway? He listened intently, trying to hear whether or not his father had left the house or not. He could hear the front door open and close. Where was his Daddy going?

He brought his knees to his chest and placed his head on top of them. His hair fell over his face, covering his eyes and bruises. The large night shirt felt weird to him, the only time his daddy dressed him like this was when he had felt sorry or when he was not mad but worried about him. When he was in his daddy's room it usually meant that he would spend the night and most likely the next few days in here; his daddy would be out drinking and no one would be home with him.

He loved his Daddy, he really did, but sometimes the man scared him. He would shift through emotions like you would when you changed the channel to the TV. When he was happy he would play with Severus and make him feel like he was the most important child on earth. But when he drank; that's when he scared him the most. He would switch from the kind and good father to a man that would beat him senseless and gloat about it while he did it. The next morning was when he would be sorry. He would always say that Severus needed to be good; he couldn't do bad things to make Daddy angry. He had been bad so Daddy hit him.

Ever since his mother had died, his father had got worse and worse. She had been dead for a few years now, almost three. He had met Lily Flower a year after that. Since then though his Daddy had started drinking more and more; he would get very angry when he would drink. Every morning and when he got home from work, he would drink some form of liquor. He would hit Severus some times; Lily Flower really didn't like that though, but he knew his Daddy didn't mean it.

He would always apologize afterwards and sometimes he even took him to get a treat to make up for it. It was his fault anyway for getting hit. He knew to stay away from his father when he drank and not to be bad, but sometimes he would come home late or he didn't do what his Daddy said fast enough. If he was a better son and listened to his Daddy then he wouldn't get hit, simple as that really. At least that was what he believed.

Sometime his father would be really nice to him, he would take Severus out and they would go to town and look at the little shops. He would make him feel very good in himself and would even tell his son that he loved him. This would last for a few days at a time then it would all fall away, cause he would always go back to the bottle, every time.

He laid down on the bed and pulled the covers over himself and up to chin. When his head hit the pillow he was quick to fall asleep. He let out a small sigh as he closed his eyes. he didn't know how long he stood asleep, only that when he woke that it was still really dark outside. He heard the front door open and slam shut, he jumped at the loud noise. He pushed the covers off the bed and slowly made his way towards the door, his hand slowly reached for the door knob. He could hear his heart beat in his ears; why was he scared though? His breathe started to become shallow as it caught in his throat. He swallowed the lump in his throat when his hand touched to door knob. Just when he moved to open the door he was yanked open and he stumbled forward.

His father stood in the door way looking down at him. He smelled like beer and whiskey, along with sweat and after shave. He bent down and without a word he picked up Severus and laid him on the bed again. He sat on the side of the bed and ran his hands through his hair. He didn't really say anything but stared down at his young son. Severus just stared back, the strokes through his hair helped him to relax and soon his eyelids were growing heavy and he began to fall asleep again.

When he was sure Severus was asleep, Tobias moved away and made his way to the bath room. He looked himself in the mirror and sighed. His blood shot eyes stared back at him, he couldn't even remember the last time he was completely sober it was so long ago. He knew if he really loved his son that he would stop and be the father that that boy deserved but the call to the bottle was always so strong. God he missed his wife, she was always able to keep his demons away.

He just sighed and knew that he would never really be able to completely give up drinking. He shook his head and continued to wash up for bed. He didn't feel like showering so he just washed his face and teeth. He went back to the room and pulled on some pajamas. He moved to the other side of the bed and laid down to sleep. He looked over to his sleeping son and let out another long sigh.


	2. Chapter 2-Face Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here it is! the next chapter to Safe at Home! Sorry it took so long to update, but this one was pretty long. It's about nine pages long and well over 4,000 words. So i hope that helps a bit. I wasn't really sure what i was writing but i hope it makes sense to you and i can promise that it will only get better from here, writing wise. Can't say anything about Severus though. I has to get worse before it gets better sometimes. Well here you go the second chapter for Safe at home.
> 
> I want to thank all the reviewers, followers, and favorites. thank you for the support and comments. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last. Please keep following it. See you at the Bottom.
> 
> I still own nothing sadly. But when i take over the world with the power of my very own dark lord JK Rowling will have no other choice but to hand over Harry and all the others. But she can keep Dumbledore. So until then, it's not mine.

Safe At Home

Chapter 2

Hey girl you know you drive me crazy

One look puts the rhythm in my hand

Still never understand why you hang around

I see what's going down

Cover with make up in the mirror

Tell yourself it's never gonna to happen again

You cry alone and then he swears he loves you

Face Down – Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Severus woke up to find himself curled up under a pair of thin worn sheet and a heavy comforter draped over him. He laid still for a few seconds just breathing in and out slowly. He was only half awake, he didn't know where he was really, he was comfortable and that was all that was important right now. He was facing a window and saw the sun was already set in the sky. It looked like it was well passed morning and bleeding into the afternoon.

That made him sit up fast. He got dizzy for a quick second, so when he tried to get out of bed he got tangled in the sheet and fell to the floor with a loud thud. He let out a short loud scream as he hit the unforgiving wooden floor, he could feel tears pool at the edge of his eyes. That had hurt, bad.

In his moment of pain he failed to notice his father standing over him with a concerned expression. Severus had landed on his head first and half his body was still on the bed it seemed. His father moved to pick him up; he picked him up from under his armpits and lifted. He placed his burden back on the bed and knelt down in front of him. He swiped the hair covering Severus' face and saw the bruise from the day before had somewhat healed. It went from the bright red to a nasty purple and yellowish color.

"Are you okay that was a hard fall you took." Severus nodded at his father with his eyes cast down;he didn't know how to gauge his father's attitude and mood. Was he angry or upset or just worried and concerned? This confused him, his father didn't usually let him sleep in so late, he was usually up with his father at six in the morning to make breakfast for the two of them. Did his father come up here to tell him he was in trouble and punish him for waking up late? Why did he come when he heard him fall?

"Are you okay Severus? What's the matter boy?" Severus looked up at his father and met his eyes for a moment before looking back down again. "I-I'm fine Daddy. Just gave myself a bump on the head really." He tapped his head trying to sound light heartily. His intentions did not show through though. His Daddy gave him a faint smile and then moved his hands to Severus' head. "Let me see again Severus." He moved his hands along where he hit his head and gave a small chuckle then said; "That you did my son, that you did."

He stood and saw the flinch from Severus. Did he think he was going to hit him? Well he had done it enough times to have the boy act this way. He ruffled Severus' hair a bit and tried to keep his voice as gentle as possible as not to scare the boy any more than he already was. "You need a hair cut buddy. How about we do that then have you take a nice long bath, then maybe we can go into town for a bit. How does that sound?" Severus looked up in wonder, Daddy was going to be nice today! He wasn't mad after all! He saw a hand put in front of him, when he looked down he saw his daddy trying to help up.

He took the extended hand and was brought to his feet and lead to the master bathroom; he was made to straddle the closed toilet seat. He heard his father rummage through the draws and pull out a pair of scissors and a comb. His Daddy had only ever cut his hair a good three times; his mother was usually the one to do it but since she was gone there was no one else now. He didn't like strangers touching him, so his Daddy was the only one that could do it. He felt the comb run through his hair as water was sprayed on it. The knots were worked out; he could hear the scissors starting to cut pieces of hair off.

An half hour later his Daddy had finished, his hair was cut neatly, close to his head with bangs that barely brushed across his forehead. His father lifted him up from his seat on the toilet and placed him in front of the mirror above the sink. He looked at himself and found he looked different than what he normally did. He frowned though when he saw the ugly bruise marring his face; it was the sound of the running water that brought him out of his brooding.

He turned to find his Daddy turning on the water to the bath tub. "Come and have your bath Severus, once you're finished go into the room and stay there. I'll lay out clothes for you. Get at it young man." He turned and left leaving his son to his own devices.

Severus turned to the bath and tested the water. It felt good as he submerged himself into it. He sunk down so his head was submerged too; he rose and began to wash his body and hair. It took him all of an half hour to rid himself of any grim he had accumulated since his last bath two nights ago. His scrubbed his hair the hardest, he hated how it would it was always greasy. Even if he didn't bath ever day, he always made sure to wash his hair.

He stepped out of the tub and reached for the fluffy towel that hung on the rack and wrapped himself in it. He walked out of the bathroom in his towel wrapped around his shoulders and shivered when the cool air of the hit him from outside of the bathroom while all the warm air from inside billowed out. He hurried inside the room and looked down at his father's bed and saw a pair of under and outer clothing. He dried himself off and quickly got dressed. When he looked for his socks and shoes he couldn't find them. He walked past his mother's old vanity and caught another look at himself.

The clothes his Daddy picked out for him were relatively new compared to his other play clothes; though they were still two sizes too big for him. He tugged at his dark red plaid shirt and smiled to himself; this was one of his favorite shirts. Did his daddy know that? Is that why he picked for him, or was it just cause it was in the front of the small wardrobe he had in his room? He ran his hands over his worn blue jeans and smiled anyway. It didn't matter, he was just happy his Daddy was taking care of him.

He walked out of the room but hesitated by the door way. Was he allowed to go out of the room now? His daddy didn't say anything about it; would he get in trouble if he went down stairs? Would he be if he just stood in the room? He didn't know what to do. He stuck his head out of the door and looked out in the hall way. "Daddy, Daddy, are you there?" he called out in his meek voice. "Daddy…" he heard footsteps coming up the stairs and assumed it was his father. He slunk back into the room as his daddy came towards the room. The master bedroom was right in front of the stairs, son it didn't take long before his father reached the door.

"Severus, are you all done now? Are you ready?" his Daddy stopped at the door and knocked before entering. When he saw his son standing by the door with a nervous look to his face he placed a gentle smile on his face. "Hey there buddy, let's get going huh?" he patted his head and then lifted him up in the air. Even though Severus knew that at eleven he was too old to be carried around all the time he didn't care. It's not like he was so big and large that it was difficult to lift him. Maybe it should have bothered him that he was so small, it did for Lily sometimes, but it didn't for him. He was okay with being small, if it meant being held like this.

He liked the felling of being cradled in his father's arms, it made him feel safe and at home; to be held by his daddy's muscular arms was really quite nice. He rested his head on his daddy's shoulder as he was taken out of the house and down the street. He watched as people walked by, those who knew them, smiled and waved. Severus would wave once awhile at them while his father said a polite hello.

He would always wonder, when his father went through one of his episodes of drunken violence there was always a lot of screaming and yelling. Did none of these people hear them? Did none of them wonder why Severus always walked to out of the house with a limp afterwards or why they wouldn't see him for days at a time? Did they never think they could help? The police were never called to their house, not once. No one ever knocked on their door to see of everything was alright. It never happened. 'Cause nobody cares.' Severus thought to himself. That was the only thing he could come up with. Nobody cared enough about him to try and see if he was okay. He knew he looked horrible sometimes. He would have black eyes and bruises all over his face and arms; he would walk with a limp sometimes because of a whipping he got with the belt. At school his teachers never asked if he was okay or if something happened to him. He had over heard some of the adults at school once talking about him. They were all saying that he was a troubled kid who got into fights all the time with some of the more well off kids. Then again he was bullied.

The other kids at school were from the better end of the street. They would pick on him all the time, making fun of his clothes and bruises. He never played with any of them; he would stay by himself in the corner of the building or hide in the classroom or the library. He was always to blame for fights at school even though he was the only one covered with dirt, blood and bruises. In his head this only feed the thoughts that he was a bad person and child. If his father punished him and no one cared enough to ask if he was okay or stop it and the teachers saying he was a bad boy then he must be so. He had to be or other people would care about what happened to him.

He lifted his head slightly and shook it, causing whatever bangs he had to fall over his eyes. He pushed those thoughts from his mind; this was not the time for these sorts of thoughts. His Daddy was happy to be with him so he would be happy. None of these sad thoughts were allowed, none. He rested his head again on his Daddy's shoulder again and sighed with content. This was nice, he could hear his Daddy's heartbeat; it was steady and soft. Too soon for his liking he was let down from his perch and placed on his feet in front of him.

He looked up at his dad as his hand was taken and he was lead into an ice cream parlor. His face lit up as he was lead to the front as his Daddy chose an ice cream for them to share. He looked into the display cases of the different flavors; he wanted to try all of them. He could only imagine what they tasted like. He looked up at his father had received their sweets; "Severus, come on let's find a table to eat it eh?" He nodded in agreement and followed the man to the table at the far corner of the shop. He sat against the wall as he was handed his own spoon to eat. He smiled and thanked his father. He scooped some of the sugary goodness into his mouth and let out a small sigh as it melted when it touched his tongue.

They ate in silence until they had finished it. His daddy threw the container in the trash and lead him out. They spent the rest of the day like this; content with each other's company. Come late afternoon/early evening they headed home. When they walked through their door Tobias steered him towards the stairs. "Go shower while I make some dinner. Come down after and we'll eat together. 'K?" Severus nodded and ran to comply.

He took no more than ten minutes to wash, excited about spend more time with his father. He stepped out of the bathroom with dripping hair and a towel wrapped around his small body. He ran to his room from the bath and went in search for a clean night shirt. When he found one he pulled it on followed by a comfortable pair of boxer briefs. He hurried down the stairs and found his father serving a small meal of simple chicken sandwiches with mayo, bacon, lettuce and tomato. He sat down at the table excited as his father set a plate in front of him. He waited until his father was seated until he began to eat.

When he bit into the sandwich, he let out a sigh of contentment. It was almost heavenly; it tasted even better knowing his Daddy made it just for him. He looked up at his father who was eating his own sandwich with a smile as he looked at his son enjoy his food. He leaned over and ruffled his hair, "Good Severus?" he asked smiling. He only received a nod as his son's mouth was full and he did not want to anger his father by talking with food in his mouth.

They ate in silence, neither one talking to one another. When they were finished, Tobias removed the plates from the table and placed them in the sink. He turned back to see his son, sitting at the table waiting for some instructions. He let a smile grace his lips and walked over to him. "Why don't we read something before bed time." He lifted his boy again and took him into the living room. He set him on the couch and went over to the small book shelve. "What should we read today? Huh, Sev?"

Severus stood up on his knees and looked over to the bookshelf himself. "Can we read Alice in Wonderland?" he said in a small voice hoping for a yes. His father nodded. He grabbed the small leather bound book and sat down next to his son. They adjusted themselves until they were comfortable. Severus was curled up against his father's side with one of his daddy's arms wrapped around his shoulders.

He opened the book and began to read. "Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she peeped into the book her sister was reading…" (1)

He continued to read for over half an hour. He looked down at his son who had fallen asleep curled up against him with his head on his shoulder. He closed the book and set it against the coffee table and picked up his son with his head resting on his shoulder still. He walked up the stairs and into the child's bed room and laid him on the bed. He pulled back the covers and placed him underneath, tucking him in to where the sheets were pulled up to his chin.

He knelt down on the side of the bed, and just stared at his son. He ran his hand through his boy's thick silky black hair. He was amazed by how it looked almost blue in the moon light. The child looked a lot like his mother sometimes. His cheek bones, his dark eyes and even his hair. It all resembled his mother. He was magic like her; he had the same presence about him too. He just sat there and stroked the child's head; Severus knowing nothing, dead to the world, leaned into the touch and let out a small sigh. How he wished to make it up to the child, his life was shit, he knew that. All his clothes were thin from overuse and two sizes too big for him; nothing he really owned was new.

He stood from his position next to his son and walked to the door; with one last look at his son he walked out, closing the door behind him. He walked down the stairs and continued until he was at the front door. He walked out into the night air. He continued his way down the street to the pub. He made a check list in his mind; he had his home keys and he was sure he locked the front door. All was good then; his boy was safe in his bed and he was far away from him. His inner demons seemed to be trying to escape its cage. He sat at the bar and requested stiff drink. He downed it and felt the liquor numb him.

He spent over three or four hours there, just drinking and pondering his miserable life. His boy was eleven already; he knew what that meant to his wife's kind. That meant he would leave him and go to that school where he learned how to do all those special things. And in a way he was truly proud to think of his son to be going to a school for the gifted; but then the monster would rear his ugly head. It didn't want to have his boy to leave him; to become independent and not need him anymore. He wanted his little boy to stay just that, his little boy. Severus was still in need of his daddy; for goodness sake the boy still called him that. After his wife died his full attention was steered towards him, when Severus tried to think for himself he would beat that out of him. He knew it was wrong to beat him but the thought of him leaving him was too much and the monster would take over.

He was snapped back to the present when the bar tender began calling his name. "Tobias, last call bud. We're closing in a bit. Do want another or you heading home?"

Tobias mused over that for a moment then nodded to himself; "I'll head home, need to get home to my boy."

"Alright, be careful Tobias, don't want ya getting hurt on the way home and have that boy of yours left worrying."

"Sure thing Joe, good night."

"Take care Tobias, good night."

With a wave of his hand over his shoulder he walked out of the door and started to make his way home. As he got closer and closer to his small home he could make out a dim light lighting the kitchen. He put the key into the front door to open it and made his way to the kitchen; making sure to close and lock the door behind himself. He came upon Severus sitting at the small kitchen table with a letter in his hand. He looked down at his son's hands and saw the wax seal on it.

He rushed over and snatched the letter from the boy's hands. He looked at who it was addressed to:

'To Mr. Severus Tobias Snape

Second bedroom

Spinner's End, Cokeworth'

Severus just stared up to his father as he read who the letter was addressed to. He could feel himself begin to shiver. Was his daddy mad, he could smell the liquor on him so he could fall either way. Tobias just stood there looking at the letter.

"D-Daddy? W-What's the matter D-Daddy?" Severus whimpered out in a soft voice.

"What are you doing up at this hour?" There was no answer from the small boy. "Answer me boy!"

Severus fell from his chair and stumbled to his feet. He brought his hands to his chest and clutched the front of his shirt. "I-I-I … I-I-I" he couldn't form a sentence, he was too scared.

His father stalked up to him, backing Severus into the wall of the kitchen. He grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt and slapped the boy across the face with his free hand. "Tell me!"

The child just stared up at him with his big dark eyes staring up at his father. He was shaken really hard and slapped again. He brought his hand to cover his cheek and began to cry. He opened his mouth to talk but words just wouldn't come out. Finally, after he began to sob a bit he began to speak. "I-I w-was…" he let out a loud sob, "… I-I was down here t-to get s-some water."

"Where did this letter come from?!" his Daddy waved the letter in his face while he yelled at him. "Where!?"

"An owl came by when I was getting water, and dropped it right in front of me then left. I-I haven't even opened it yet."

That seemed to set him off cause he was thrown across the room to the opening of the kitchen towards the living room. He landed hard on his hands and knees. He let out a soft choked whimper when he collided with the hard floor. His father walked in behind him and pulled him to his feet by the back of his shirt. He pulled the boy over to the couch and dropped him on it. "Child, w-why do you constantly try my patience? Why?"

Severus just shook his head, trying to think of a way to calm his Daddy down. "D-Daddy… Daddy? I didn't mean anything by it, I-I'm sorry" He knew he needed to apologize, even if he didn't know what he had done wrong. "I was just excited about the letter, it's my Hogwarts letter Daddy." Stood from his spot on the couch and approached his Daddy slowly. "It's the letter Mama said I would get the summer I turn eleven remember? It's were I'll be going to school now."

His words seemed to aggravate his father more; so when he got into striking range he was hit with a flying fist that collided with the side of his face. He fell to the floor with a hard thud, clutching the side of his face. All that courage that was there a minute ago was gone replaced with that heart stopping fear. He looked up scared at his father. This wasn't happening, sure he was slapped and pushed around but he had never been punched or anything similar to that. When he looked up to his father he saw unrestrained rage and anger. He scrambled back as his father advanced on him; but he didn't get out of range fast enough so he was pulled to his feet and punched in the stomach and face again. He was thrown to the floor and was continuously kicked. He curled into a ball, trying to protect his stomach and head. Finally it stopped; on for him to be dragged up to his feet and pulled to the couch and fell over his father's lap. He felt his pants be dragged down to his knees then he felt a sharp sting hit his back side.

With each sharp slap to his back side he let out a choked cry. "DADDY! DADDY, PLEASE STOP!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, he was answer by the rain of hits coming to a halt. When nothing happened for a good minute, Severus lifted his head and pecked through his bangs and arms. His father was just staring down at him with a shocked and disgusted look on his face. "Daddy, I'm sorry…" his voice was no more than a whisper at this point.

They just stared at each other for a long moment, Severus didn't move from the spot on his father's lap and his father didn't move from where he sat above him. The man moved his hand to place it on the sobbing boys back and ignored the flinch he got when he placed his hand on the child's shoulder. "Let's clean you up child." He said in a soft voice and picked him up like he usually did and carried him up the stairs. He took him to the bathroom and began to undress the boy. He placed him in the tub and turned on the faucet.

He plugged the tub and watched as the water began to fill it up; as soon as it was full enough he turned it off. He began wash him off pouring water over his child's thin and bruised limbs. With gentle hands he washed whatever sweat, dirt and blood there was on his son. "I don't know about this school Severus; I might not want you to go. What if you aren't like them. I don't like the idea of you being away from me for such a long time. You wouldn't be able come home until holiday breaks. Don't you think that it would be better if you just stayed here and went to the school you usually do?"

Severus peeked through his bangs and stared at his father. Was he saying that he couldn't go to Hogwarts? But it would be the only way to keep the memory of his mother of fading. He knew she was in clubs at school and made herself known there. He could find out something that he didn't know about her. And what did he mean not be like them? Did he think he was a squib? He wasn't though, knew that much. He felt the magic in him, just like how he felt it with his mother and Lily. He didn't know any other witch or wizard nor had he met any other. Thought whirled around in his head. His father beat him just for mentioning Hogwarts and for receiving his letter, he wasn't going to let this go. As much as he was afraid of what his father would do, he had to make sure he went to Hogwarts!

"D-Daddy, I-I have to go to H-Hogwarts. I-If I don't, my magic c-could hurt me." His voice was soft but it carried through. His father just stared at him.

"We'll see Severus, we'll see."

Though his father had said that he knew nothing good could come out of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there you have it! The next chapter to the Safe at Home story. Sorry if you thought thing would be getting better for Severus. I sort of want more thing to happen with his father and him. I'm a little afraid for this chapter because like i said before, i had no real idea where i was heading with this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it and i wish anyone who read this best of luck. I will take any advice or opinions i can get but beware if you make me cry i will set the evil Dark Lord on you. That's right, i have the Dark Lord in my bedroom closet and only feed him mean people so watch out. *Opens closet door and brings him out* Show the world your with me Voldie.
> 
> "Beware, if you hurt her feelings you will pay for your insolence"
> 
> There you have it a fair warning. Have a great day, night, afternoon, where ever you are in the world. See you soon! FIGHTING!
> 
> Summerstar is signing off! Bye Bye.


	3. Chapter 3-Letters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know its been awhile since I've updated this story or any story really but now I'm on summer break so hopefully I'll be able to write more. If not I apologize for it. I'm sorry if you find this slow but it will pick up soon. This chapter is about 21 pages long so I tried to make it long. So please look kindly upon me and my work. I hope to see you back here soon so please keep up this great support.
> 
> On a side note real quick though: I don't know if a said this or not last chapter in the AN so I'll say it here too; there is more than one kind of true love. If you've seen the movie Maleficent the you'll know that or even Frozen. True loves comes in more than just the form of romance between two people. It can be between friends, parent and child or siblings. Even guardians to their wards. So please know that though Severus is not going to be in love with Lily, know that he would still die for her and do anything she needed him to do for her.
> 
> So with that i hope you enjoy and I'll see you at the bottom.

Safe at Home

Chapter 3

Severus looked at himself in the mirror; he couldn't hold back the choked sob that wanted to get past his lips. He knew it was too good to last, maybe it was only for a bit but he still wished it had last a little longer. As he looked at himself he could see the bruise on the side of his face stand out against his pale skin. It hurt him to think that his daddy would hit him but he knew the reality of it was that the man could have done worse. Much, much worse.

Now he was talking about how he didn't want him to even consider going to Hogwarts. He just had to, not just because of his mother but the fact that he knows what happens when an untrained wizard doesn't learn how to control his magic. They die, his mother told him so, so did Lily. And she was really smart. What was his father afraid of? Why didn't he want him to go to Hogwarts? There were many questions that Severus had, but he lacked the courage to ask them. He wasn't very brave, nor did he think he ever would be.

One thing was on his mind though. He just had to go to Hogwarts! He had to, no matter the consciences!

He returned to staring at himself in the mirror. "You listen here Severus Tobias Snape, you will go down to your father, and no matter what happens you have to make him listen to you. Prove to him that you have to go to Hogwarts, tell him what will happen if you go untrained for too long. You have to talk to him. The worst he can say is no, and the worst the can do is... well, let's not think about the worst thing now." He tried to encourage himself, tried to motivate himself with words he normally wouldn't say. In the end though he didn't feel very encouraged nor did he feel any braver. If only he was a Gryffindor like his brave Lily. Then this wouldn't be so hard.

A knock on the bathroom door broke him out of his thought; "Boy, what are you doing in there, why are you mumbling to yourself?" The voice of his father came though the other side of the door.

"Um, I'm just brushing my hair; it won't stay down and cooperate with me." He winced at his lame excuse. 'Yeah Severus real smooth, great excuse you used there.' His thoughts said to him.

"That better be all you're doing in there. Get finished, I need you to come to my bedroom when you're done." With that he was left alone again.

In the bed room? Why would he want to meet him in the bed room for? He couldn't getting spanked again right, he was still sore from the night before. He couldn't sit still this morning when he ate breakfast in the kitchen this morning. It had hurt just to bend down really. The thought of another beating shook Severus to the core. No, no it couldn't be another beating, those usually happen in the living room or his own room. What could he want? 'Well,' he thought, 'Only one way to find out.'

He left his little fortress of solitude and made his way to the master bed room. When he got there, it was hard just to get his hand up to knock on the close door. He could feel his mouth dry, his palms began to sweat, and his heart beat could be heard two blocks down it seemed. Tears started to swim in his eyes. What was he so afraid of going into see his father, it was just his Daddy. But that was it, it was his Daddy behind this door and that's what terrified him the most.

It was his father who had beat him, his father that left marks on his body, and his father that got drunk and used his as a punching bag. But at the same time, wasn't he bad that he earned these markings, wasn't he the one that provoked his father when his was drunk, wasn't it his fault that this was happening? Thought after thought bounced off the walls of his mind, it was like a game of tennis was being played with them.

Before he could go even further into his thoughts the door opened to the room and his father stood in the door way. He moved to leave the room but bumped into to Severus. He looked down in surprise and caught the boy before he could fall. "I was just coming to see if you were done yet." His voice sounded bored, but there was no slur in it, so that was good.

Severus shifted from foot to foot, he was too nervous to say anything. His vocal cords were being held hostage from his fear. "Daddy, I really need to tell to you about school. Please, you have to listen to me! I need to talk to you about this!"

His father let out a sigh, Severus could already tell that he wasn't going to listen. He never really did anyway. That little voice in the back of his head came to life again; it always told him dark things, things that made him sad or angry. 'You know that he won't listen. He doesn't give a damn about what would happen to you. He isn't going to hurt you now, but it won't last.' and he knew that was true, the peace wouldn't last no matter how much he wanted it to.

"Severus, we have discussed this. I-"

Severus could feel his blood boil. It was like, all the anger and frustration in him was a bottle that was overflowing. His anger was pouring out and he couldn't stop the words and emotions from out. He knew he would regret it later, but he couldn't stop himself. His bottle was overflowing. "No we didn't discuss anything! You beat me until I agreed with what you were saying! That isn't a discussion, that's just forcing your thoughts onto me! I love you daddy, but I don't care what you want! I am going to Hogwarts! I will go to my grandfather if I have to and beg for him to help me! I have to go to Hogwarts! No I will go!" As he screamed, he rose to his feet so he wasn't staring up at the man so much.

Tobias just stared at his son as he all but screamed at him. He had never heard his son scream at him before. The boy always listened, always. Never so much as questioned what his father did. He was at a lost for what to do for a moment, but just a moment. Though he wasn't drunk, he hadn't picked up a bottle since the night before. He had to leave; he had to leave before he lost control.

Severus stared at his father; the man just stared at him with an emotionless face. But he still had his courage and rage, he held strong to it. He knew he was going to get beat; his father never liked it when he had taken a tone to him let alone screaming in his face! But he couldn't give himself to care; he could be strong for once. At least he hoped he could.

What happened next wasn't all that surprising really; Tobias lifted his hand and smacked Severus across the face. It was more of a back hand really. With the grown man's strength, he sent the child to the floor. Severus just stared back up at his father with his hand clutched over the side of his face that was hit. When Tobias stared into his son's dark eyes he saw tears, but this time they were not tears of pain or fear, they were tears of anger and frustration. He couldn't stop himself; it was like he was going in slow motion. He began to beat the boy; punching him, kicking him, even shaking him when he pulled him to his feet.

Unlike all the other times from when the boy was hit and beaten, he made no pleas for it to stop, he didn't beg his father for forgiveness over something he didn't know he did or something trivial. Though he did still gasp and cry out in pain, his tears were for the anger he felt; towards himself and towards his father. The beating continued until Severus passed out from a sharp blow to the head. He laid on the floor, curled into a tight ball, Tobias stood over the crumpled form of his son.

When would this boy understand that what he said was law? If he told the boy the sky was green and the grass was blue, he was supposed to believe it no matter what other people would tell him. He shouldn't need to go to this school; he wasn't like the others that would attend. He was too weak, too small, and too innocent. He would beat this fact into him if he had to.

He moved out of the room, leaving the boy on the floor. He needed a drink, a really stiff one. He would deal with the boy later; maybe he wouldn't be so thick headed then, when he returned. He sure as hell hoped so.

Severus woke up to the sound of a sharp object tapping on glass along with a soft cooing. He hurt all over, he pushed himself up slowly, clutching his side, with one arm and holding his head with the other. He pulled the one on his head away slowly, it felt sticky. The whole side of his forehead and face felt sticky in fact. His hand came away red, he was bleeding, or at least had been bleeding.

All that courage and anger he felt before had left him in a wisp. It was replaced by fear and exhaustion. He moved over to the window slowly, he opened it to find a small brown barn owl sitting on the window sill with a letter in its beak. It pushed it forward into his hands and patiently waited for a reply to be handed to it. He looked at the parchment and saw the Hogwarts logo on it. He ripped it open and read the same context he had read the night before. He let out a shuddering breath; could he really do this?

Yes, he thought to himself, yes he could. He ran out of the bedroom he was in and went over to his own room. "Wait," he said to himself. He moved back to the room and looked at the owl; "Can you stay there for one second? I'll be right back, I promise." He ran and got a piece of paper and a pen. He went back to his father's room and wrote a quick short note of acceptance.

Dear Deputy Headmistress,

I would like to accept my place at Hogwarts. Though I need assistance in getting my school supplies. Is there anyone who has the time to explain things to me? I would greatly appreciate it. My family does not have much money, and I've live with my muggle father.

Thank you,

Severus T. Snape

Severus looked over the letter quickly and tied it to the owl's outstretched leg. He sighed as he watched it fly out the window. He really hoped that everything would work out. He heard the door open and close downstairs. He looked at the now open bedroom door. Was he back already? He didn't know, not really. It didn't cause fear to course through him like it probably should have but it was still a bit off putting. He rushed to the stairs and checked if anyone was coming up; when he saw there wasn't he slowly walked down then. When he got to the bottom; he saw that his father was in the living room, his back was facing him. He ran into the kitchen and out the back door.

He shut the door quietly behind himself and continued on towards the front of the house. He made sure to duck under the window that showed the inside of the living room. Once he reached the front of the house he took off down the street. He ran all the way to the park he had meet Lily the day before last. He wanted to tell her about his letter and what he should do. Maybe he should go to her house? Yeah that sounded like a good idea. Maybe she would let him have something to eat. He was pretty hunger, he felt like he could eat a horse.

He looked around at the park as a screaming kid ran right in front of him. He really hated when people ran in front of him like he didn't exist, was he invisible or something! Wait, he was getting off topic. Severus let out a long sigh, 'This is what happens when I get overly hunger I guess.'

He moved over to the side entrance of the park that lead down the street that Lily lived on. "I do sure hope she's home right now or this will be an awkward moment for me." he spoke in a low voice so no one else could hear him. He ran down the sidewalk to the house at the end of the street. He skidded to a stop and walked over to the front door. As he raised his hand to knock on the door, it opened to Lily's older sister Petunia standing in the doorway.

"What do you want Freak?" Her high pitched voice grated on his ear drums. He didn't know what he had done to get so much hostility from her. He had never really known her, only through Lily had they meet.

"Is Lily home, I wanted to talk to her about something." He waited patiently for her to answer but he only got a sneer from her. Well, he tried to be nice and ask politely but apparently that didn't work for this woman. "LILY!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. Petunia shut the door in his face and yelled out to her father as if Severus was the one being mean.

"Daddy, there's a creepy boy screaming for Lily outside!" Severus could hear her yell. What a load of cow dung that was. He was not creepy. The front door was open again, this time it was Mr. Evans that stood in front of him. He looked over Severus' head for a moment then looked down at him. a small smile spread over his face when he saw the boy. It quickly disappeared though when he saw the bruises on his face.

"Hello there Severus, how are you today?" his voice was gentle and kind, he moved aside to let the child in. "Come on in child, Lily is up in her room." Mr. Evans moved into the kitchen and pulled out a chair for the small boy. "Sit down Severus; would you like something to eat, it's almost lunch time?" Severus just nodded as his stomach let out a fierce growl. He hadn't really eaten much of his breakfast because his sore bottom. Mr. Evans just chuckled and moved over to the counter and pulled out a plate with a few sandwiches on it. He placed the plate in front of Severus along with a tall glass of milk and smiled at him. "Eat up, I'll go get Lily." He walked out of the room, leaving the boy by himself.

As Severus started to eat, he felt someone watching him. He turned his head as Petunia walked into the room. She had her usual sneer on her face as she looked him up and down. He placed the sandwich back onto the plate as she continued to stare at him with such disdain. He felt out of place of a sudden. Petunia's next words did nothing to soothe him either. "What are you doing freak? Eating our food? You shouldn't even be here you little beggar. You're nothing but a nuisance to my family. Get out of our house freak."

"I am not a freak! And I'm not a beggar! Mr. Evans invited me in and said I could eat!" Severus yelled right back at the annoying girl.

"You're still a freak Severus Snape, and you need to just die and leave Lily alone!" That shocked Severus a bit. Didn't she know better than to wish death on someone?

"Petunia Evans! You have no right to say those things!" Both Petunia's and Severus' head whipped around and saw Mrs. Evans standing at the doorway to the kitchen. "Go to your room Petunia, I don't want to see you until dinner, do you hear me young lady? Go."

The young girl stomped out of the kitchen and up the stairs with a huff but nothing else was heard from the girl. Mrs. Evans sighed and sat down next to Severus and grabbed a sandwich, beginning to eat it. "Well hello there Severus, how are you doing on this fine day?" Severus gave a small giggle as she greeted him.

"I'm fine Mrs. Evans, thank you for asking me." He to a swig of his drink and stared down at the table. "I'm sorry about yelling at Petunia, I just got mad..." His voice trailed off as he felt a bit bad for yelling at the girl, even if she started it. His mommy and daddy said that yelling and hitting girls was bad. The thought of his parents brought up that mornings event. Had his father figured out he had left? Was he going to get in trouble when he got home? Would Mrs. Evans let him stay here? His thoughts were broken when he felt someone touch his shoulder lightly. He flinched badly and looked up startled at Mrs. Evans.

"Honey," her voice was soft and gentle, "How did you get that bruise on your face?" When she looked down at him he looked startled at the question. His hand flew to the side of his face that was bruised and flinched again when he moved his arm too fast.

Mrs. Evans looked sadly at him and frowned. He knew this was one of those times that could get him out of his father's hands, but at the same time he didn't want his Daddy to get into trouble. He didn't hate the man, just didn't like what he would do sometimes. What should he tell her? If he told her that his Daddy had hit him she would call the police and they would take him away to an orphanage. He had heard horror stories about those places from those that lived in one that went to his school. What was he supposed to say?!

"I-I fell down," his voice trailed off in thought "Yeah, just fell down is all. It's nothing too bad. It was just a small tumble down the stairs is all." He tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it didn't look too convincing, he knew. She let out a soft sigh and gave a smile back at him. "If you say so," she said.

He nodded his head, he knew this was wrong. He should tell, he should let it stop. His daddy was doing something bad, he knew that, but that didn't mean he was a bad man, right? While his thoughts were still going through his head he heard the sound of bare feet hitting hard wood. He looked towards the entey way to the kitchen and saw Lily enter. His smile grew when he saw her. It was his Lily!

"Severus!" she yelled in excitement. She ran up to him and wrapped him in a big hug, while he was still sitting. She always hugged him as if they hadn't seen each other in a long time or as if this was their last hug ever. Severus didn't like people touch him really. Only three people held that right; his Mommy, his Daddy, and his Lily Flower. No one else. And to make things better, Lily hugged just like his Mommy used to. She let go of their embrace and held him at arm's length, letting her hands fall onto his shoulders. "Look at your hair!" she exclaimed. "It's so short! Who cut it for you?" Her smile was bright, it was like the sun to him, or at least reminded him of the sun.

"My Daddy cut it, and then, then, he, he-!" He was so excited to tell her that he went and got ice cream with his dad that he couldn't form it in words. She smiled down at him though, encouraging him on, so he did. "We, got ice cream and he let me eat a whole lot of it!"

Her smile seemed a little strained at this. "Really, that is very nice of him." She moved down to the seat next to him and took her own sandwich. "Do you want to go somewhere with me?"

"Oh yes, I would love to!" He reached into his pants pocket and withdrew his Hogwarts letter to show Lily. "Look Lily Flower, I got my letter!" He handed it to her to see. She took it with her smile widening.

'Finally, he'll get away from that man!' She thought to herself. "This is great Sev! Have you sent an acceptance letter?" She got a small head bobbing up and down so fast she was afraid his head would fall off.

Severus opened his mouth to say something when there was a tapping on the window, everyone in the room looked towards the kitchen window. A small owl sat there waiting patiently to be let in. Mrs. Evans got up and opened it, letting the little thing in. It flew out to Sev and sat in front of him. The little thing held out his thin leg, Severus looked down and saw a letter tied to it. He undid it and the owl put its leg down, nudging Severus' hand with its soft head, as if it were to say, "Well, read the darn thing."

Severus nodded his head to the little thing and opened the letter. It was from the deputy headmistress. She had replied to his letter; so fast too.

Mr. Severus Snape,

On the subject of having someone meet you, there will be someone from the board of governors to meet you and explain things to you and your parents. Money will be provided by a sponsor or it will come as a scholar ship. Someone will show up at your home listed on the registry in a day's time at 4'o clock in the morning, be ready because they will be taking you school shopping too.

Sincerely,

Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall

Severus didn't know how to respond to that. His father would not be happy to know that he had accepted his letter and place at Hogwarts. Okay maybe he did know what to do. He looked up to at Lily and gave her small smile then to Mrs. Evans. "Mrs. Evans, can I have a professor meet me here please? I don't want my Daddy to be mad at me. He doesn't know that I went out today or that I accepted my Hogwarts letter. Please?"

Mrs. Evans just smiled kindly at the boy and nodded he approval. "Of course dear. If I might ask, why did you sneak away from your father? Why doesn't he know you're here?"

Severus let out a soft sigh and looked down at the table. "I had gotten in trouble earlier. I had said some rather mean things and disobeyed him. So I was grounded…" He looked up quickly though, trying to defend himself, "I had to come and tell Lily though. I just had to. Please don't call my Daddy. Please ~."

Mrs. Evans just nodded again with her agreement and gave him another small smile to calm him. "Don't worry dear, I won't tell on you. Best sent your letter to the professor if you're going to have them meet you here." With that she got up and walked out of the room.

Lily looked over to Severus and smiled. She also rose, "Well, get a move on Sevie. Let's go." She led him to her room. On the window seal sat the owl that delivered his letter. He nodded to the little thing again and it nodded back to him. I have a letter to send back to the Professor, can you wait for a moment or two?" The small thing nodded its big head and sat with patience for the children to finish writing.

Severus took out paper that Lily had given him and wrote back his response quickly, telling the Professor to send the person that was to meet him at Lily Evans house, along with the address. He tied it to the owl's leg and waved it off as it flew away. He hopped this worked out for the better. He had to make his father understand him. He would cross that bridge when he got to it though.

He turned to Lily and smiled, "What should we do until 4' o clock?" They looked over to the clock and saw it was three PM. They had one hour until anyone showed up. What to do with the hour?

Lily smiled, having an idea, "Let's ask my mom if we can make cookies!" She pulled his arm and dragged down stairs. They asked and Mrs. Evans set everything up for them and waited at the table with tea for them to need her to put them in the oven. That's how they spent the hour, making a mess of the kitchen and themselves. It was ten minutes before the person that was supposed to arrive for him to show, that Mrs. Evans shooed Severus and Lily to clean themselves up.

Severus was trying to wash flour from his hands when the front door bell rang. He heard his name be called and rushed out the washroom and hurried into the sitting room. There sat a tall blonde haired man; his hair looked like it would brush past his shoulders, but was tied back with a simple black ribbon. His skin was pale and brought out his silver eyes. His face looked flawless and held a certain beauty about it. He was dressed in a nice, expensive, looking black suit with a black shirt and black tie, with a silver tie clip and polished black leather shoes. The nodded his head towards the flour covered boy in the entrance of the room. Mrs. Evans served the man tea and placed another set in front of a seat for Severus.

"Severus, Me and Lily will be in the kitchen, okay?" With a nodded from Severus, she exited the room and left the two to talk among themselves.

"H-Hi, my name's Severus Snape, it's nice to meet you sir." He gave a slight bow as he spoke, trying to be polite as he could. When he saw his shirt though, he cringed; he still had flour on him. Maybe baking cookies wasn't such a great idea to do when you had an important meeting with no clean clothes to change into. He let out a small sigh, nothing to do about that now, 'Just don't sit too close to him, don't get flour on his suit.' His mind began to wonder again it seemed but snapped back when the man began to talk to him.

"Hello Young Mister Severus Snape, It's a pleasure to meet you too. My name is Abraxas Malfoy; I'm from the board of school governors and am also a part of the ministry of magic." He held out his hand to the young boy and Severus took it, shaking it. He motioned for Severus to sit and he did. They began to drink the tea before them.

Abraxas Malfoy started to speak first, "First let us address any question you have about wizards and witches first. What are some questions you have about them?"

"Umm, I have none sir. I've known I'm a wizard since I was little, my mother was a witch and my father is a muggle. My mother taught me all she could before she died. She showed me more potions than anything."

"And who is your mother young Severus?"

"Her name was Eileen Snape nee Prince."

There was a silence between them then, Severus didn't know why though. "Your mother was a Prince? Eileen Prince?"

"Umm, Yes? She was? Why is that important? I know I have a well off grandfather that threw her out for marrying my father, but beyond that, I have no idea."

"Your mother was the daughter of Lord Prince, a noble in our world. If you are her son then you should be living with your uncle or grandfather. Where is your mother? Why did you have me meet you here child?"

The man's statement startled Severus a bit; at the last question though he looked down at his hands. "S-She's been d-dead for a while now. I-I asked if you could m-meet me here because my father hasn't really liked magic since my mother d-died, before he was okay with it, but after her, he's become afraid I think." He hated the way his voice wavered a bit. He couldn't cry, he would deny the tears that threatened to fall.

"Was your father the one to give you that bruise on your face?" The man leaned in closer to try and see the boy's face. He saw the marks that were left over from the night before and swept the bangs that hung there out of his eyes to get a better look. The man looked at the mark marring the boy's face. 'Is this what muggles do to magical children?' Abraxas thought to himself.

"He didn't mean to really – well maybe he did – but he wasn't himself at that moment and it was my fault more than anything else. I made him mad." Severus played with the sleeve of his shirt and looked down at his hands as he spoke.

The older Malfoy looked at the boy as he listened to him and gave a deep sigh. "Your father does this a lot then?" He wanted to know about this child. Lord Prince was a good friend of his and he thought he would inform him when he went home.

Severus looked up at him with a startled look on his face. What was he supposed to say? His daddy wasn't himself when he hit him. Then a thought skidded across his mind. Could he tell this man what he didn't really even tell Lily? Sometimes telling a stranger was easier than telling someone you knew. They didn't know enough about you to judge you for it. He made a split decision then. Maybe this man could help him and his daddy. Because as much as he disliked his daddy at time, he loved him with everything he had and knew there had to be a way to save him from whatever plagued him.

"My daddy doesn't know what he does sometimes when he drinks. He gets confused or really angry. He apologizes afterwards the next morning or so on but he has a hard time controlling himself. Could you help him please?"

Abraxas stared at the boy with a slight shocked look on his face. "You want to help the man who has hurt you?"

"No, you don't understand. He wasn't like this until my Mommy died. He was always happy and never drank the way he does now. Something has to have gone wrong right? Before my mom died he was always happy, happy! So please, know that my father changed for day to night almost right after she died. I love my daddy with all my heart. Something has to wrong right?!" the child screamed at the end almost. He was standing at the end of his sentence, with so much conviction that he had the man believing him.

"Okay, I will look at him if that is what you wish. But before that I would like to take you to meet your grandfather and uncle. They should have taken you after your mother's death. Your mother was the next in line after your uncle and he has no children as of yet so you are as of right now an heir to the most Ancient and Noble House of Prince. So let us meet them then move on from there." He stood and moved to the door, "Go inform the ones that housed you here and tell them you are leaving then meet me right outside the door." Severus nodded and went to tell Lilly and Mrs. Evans that he was leaving then went running out to the man. "Are you ready?" a small nod came. "Hold onto my arm and don't let go, no matter what okay?"

"Alright." He took hold of his arms with a firm grip and curled his fingers around the fabric of the man's clothes.

The man went for his wand then as an afterthought turned back to the child. "Close your eyes too." And with a pop they were gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was it. The newest chapter to Safe at home. It took me longer than i thought to write, but you know, college likes to get in the way of a great many things; life, money, social life. So i hope you enjoyed it. I don't know much about the Price family so for argument sake please let us say they are alive and kicking; at least Lord prince and his son. If any one knows their name please tell me or I'll come up with their name. SO live long and prosper and all that jazz and I'll see you soon my friends and followers! I am at the moment building my army of evil ninja penguins and planing on taking over the world. So that might get in the way of writing. I still have Voldemort here locked in my closet too so please no flames. Until next time; FIGHTING!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, fancy that! I'm back!!!!! Sorry for the long absence. School is evil and life even more so. Here is the next chapter for Safe at Home. No promises that the next will be here soon after this, but I will work on writing it as soon as I can !! See you at the bottom

Safe At Home  
Chapter 4  
The landing was anything but graceful for Severus. He landed and landed hard. The force of the landing made him fall to the floor with huge thump, he was sprawled out on the ground. The grassy ground met his face, jarring the bruises on it, he let out a yelp of surprise as he fell and a groan of pain when he met ground. If this was how Wizards traveled then he hated it. He was pulled up by the bottom of his armpits and set on his feet. He felt the sweet wash of magic wash over him, it left a tingle on his skin as his clothes righted themselves and his hair and clothes became clean. He looked up at Abraxas and the man offered him a small smile, one he returned.

Abraxas offered his hand to the small boy and lead him to the front of the manor that sat before them. “Your Grandfather’s name is Octavius Prince, he is still the current Lord of the family and your uncle’s name is Alexander Prince. Both work in the our worlds hospital, your grandfather is just recently retired as a healer and your uncle is currently a lawyer."

They got to the front and Abraxas knocked on the door. A small wrinkly creature meet them at the door. It only came up to Severus' waist, and that was saying something! The little thing had on what looked like a very fine black silk pillow case with a small script like P embroidered over its heart. It large watery blue eyes stared at them with wonder as it tugged on one of its large floppy ears. "What can Haze do for you masters?" It asked it a soft squeaky voice. It sounded female to Severus.  
"We wish to speak with your lord of the house if you will direct us to him?"

"Haze be doing that. Do come in." The small creature opened the door for them to enter the manor. They walked through the door and Severus could help but stop and stare at all the beautiful things that decorated the walls; paintings, tapestries, swords and knives, along with thing Severus couldn't describe. 'How strange, do all wizard homes look like this?' He thought to himself. They were led up a large grand staircase and into a study off the second floor. The little creature opened the door for them to enter and announced them to her master. "Lord Malfoy and company be here to speak to you master. Haze be getting tea for yous." The little thing bowed out and left.

The man sitting behind the desk looked up from his paper work at them and waved them over to sit in the seats in front of him. He had dark hair and dark blue eyes, his features made him known that he was related to Severus' mother. "What can I do for you today Abraxas? And who is this...young man?" He gave Severus a long look up and down, taking in his worn out clothes and bruised face. He probably thought this lord had brought him a tramp. To Severus, this was extremely insulting. His dad did what he could for clothes for him and he sure as hell was going to let this man assume anything about his bruises. He could kiss his a-

"This is Severus Snape, a young wizard I stopped by to meet. The board sent me to take care of him since all the other teachers are busy preparing for the new year and helping others."

"Playing errand boy for them now are you Abraxas? Oh, how the mighty have fallen." The man said it teasingly. "What is it I can do for you?" He sat back in his chair and gazed at them down his nose.

"I actually wanted you to meet him. Octavius Prince meets Severus Snape; son of Eileen Snape née Prince." To say Abraxas shocked the man silent was an understatement, being a pureblood the man had to know how to hide what he was really thinking from the world. The thought of his grandson of a daughter he threw out was a shock for his old heart.  
Severus didn't know this man. His Mom had never talked about him before. He had never really met anyone from her side of the family. For all he knew, the man was going to throw him out just as he had done his mother. "Hello Sir, my name is Severus Tobias Snape. It's nice to meet you."

The man just nodded to him, opening his mouth to say something but closing it after a moment. He drew in a sharp breath and gave a sigh. "The pleasure is mine. I am Octavius Prince, the lord of the most noble and ancient house of Prince."  
Abraxas looked between the boy and his now discovered Grandfather and could feel the awkward silence in the air. "Well, now that we're all on track of who everyone is; let me tell you why young Severus and I are here." He pulled a letter out of his pocket and handed it to Octavius. "Young Severus here has been accepted to Hogwarts for schooling. His father though, is unable to pay for him to attend. Eileen made sure that his way for the first few years were paid for but after that is not and as for his school supplies, his father is unable to attend to those. He can't pay for much of them. We have come to plead for help for young Severus. you know as well as I do what happens to those students who take the grants and loans. Most can't keep up with having to pay it back." 

Octavius looked over to the pair and sighed again. He had failed his daughter by abandoning her to the world without a penny for her name. He didn't even know she had passed away. Even without money, she still found a way to pay for her son's education, or at least the first few years. He did know what happened to the children that had to take out loans had no way to pay for them afterwards at times because after they graduated they couldn't find a job in their world. 

His grandson would be fighting an uphill battle if he went in without financial backing of his family and the fact that he was a halfblood and unclaimed by his pureblood family. His house would be a problem too, in every house there was a prejudice concerning half bloods and purebloods. Severus was unclaimed, he would be nothing but a cast out if he didn’t take the boy in. Mocked by his peers because he came from a poor background and from a disowned member of a noble pureblood line.  
He let out a sigh and came to a decision, he couldn’t let the boy drown in their world without someone there to save him. He looked at the young boy and took in the state of his clothes. “Severus, do you know anything about our family or about the wizarding world?” 

“I-I know that there is a school I have to go to to train myself and my magic, and that if I don’t learn how to control it then it can hurt me. My mummy never told me much about you or anyone one else though.” He looked down at his hand, picking the dirt from in between his nails. “No wait,” he looked up at his grandfather in the eyes, “She did talk about her mother though. How she used to show my mummy magic and how to do little spells without a wand. She said just little ones. She showed me how to do some of them.”

“What kind of spell did she show you?” asked Abraxas. He was curious about that, wandless magic was hard for adults and though children did it often, it was outbursts when they got emotional. They rarely had control over it. 

Severus cupped his hands together and concentrated on them. He made little flowers appear and dance around in the palm of his hand. He had shown Lily this and she was excited to learn it to. He put more power into it and made the flowers turn into little dolls made from them and begin to dance with one another. He let them do one last twirl and then turn to what looked like glitter and fall from between his fingers. He looked up at the two men as they stared right back at him with an awed look on their faces. He gave a small tentative smile to them. "T-That's about all I am able to do really." 

His grandfather was the first to recover from his shock and nodded at him. "That was very good Severus. Not many your age would be able to control their magic like that. Not many adults even. You are a very talented boy." Severus smiled at that. He wasn't told that often. "Your mother taught you that?" 

He nodded his head at that. "She liked to show me little tricks when I was sad. I liked his one the best." 

"Severus, for me to help you with school, I have to take you into the family. You are the only heir to be born for this family at the moment. If my son ever has children, they will take that place, but until then, you are the only one to fill the spot. For me to accept you into the family, you have to come and live here with me." 

At hearing his grandfather say that, Severus began to panic. Live with this man. He didn't even know him. He would have to leave his daddy. He couldn't leave him all on his own, he just couldn't. He was all the family his father had left. His daddy was all he had left when it came to his small family. This man in front of him didn't count as family, he wasn't there when he was growing up. He wasn't there when his mummy had died. He wasn't there when his father began to hit him. He wasn't there when he was scared of being in his own home. He wasn't there. 

Though he didn't like his daddy at times, he was always there. He was a constant in his life. Like how his Lily Flower was. He loved his daddy with all his heart. He wasn't always a nice man, but he knew he was trying his best to keep himself together. He didn't want to leave his daddy. He couldn't leave him. He was as strung up on his father as his father was on him.  
"I-I can't do that." He whisper out to the older man. 

"Do what Severus?" asked Abraxas. 

"Live with him." He said as he looked at the older man next to him. "I can't do that. My Daddy needs me with him. He needs to know that I won't leave him. That going to school won't take me away from him. I can't."

Octavius leaned forward in his chair and stared at the young man, his eyes narrowing. "Do you understand what that will mean Severus? What it means to turn down my offer?"

"This is what you need Severus, you need to do this to be able to go to Hogwarts." Abraxas tried to convince the young boy. 

All their talking did was anger Severus. They didn't understand, they didn't know what would happen to his daddy if he left him. They didn't know! "You don't understand! I can't!!" He got out of his chair, jumping to his feet. "My Daddy needs me, he needs me!!" Slapping his hand against his chest as he said this. 

"Severus, I'm sure that's what it feels like, but your father is a grown man and can look after himself." Abraxas said soothingly. 

"You need to think about your future. You belong in this world, not the one you're living in right now."

Severus turned to the man, his face scrunched up in anger. Why didn't they understand him. They acted like they knew him. He had just met them today, hadn't even known them for more than three hours even. He opened his mouth to say something to them when his grandfather beat him to the punch. 

"Severus, let me ask you something." The young boy turned to him, his face still pinched in what was supposed to be a glare. "How did you get that bruise?"

It shocked Severus, silence drew between all of them. He didn't want to answer that. "I-I-I" He didn't know what to say.  
"Did your father hurt you Severus? Did your dad hit you?" the man kept talking though. He kept asking questions. "Severus, did he hurt you? Does your father hit you often? Is it because you have magic? Severus-"

"SHUT UP!!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. These men knew nothing! They didn't know what kind of man his father was. They didn't know! "You don't know ANYTHING!! You don't know me or my Daddy!! You have no right to ask me anything! You are the one that abandoned my Mummy and Daddy when they married. I don't know you! My Daddy is a good man, he has his problems like anyone else, but he tries." Silence enveloped them again, Severus was tired, he wanted to go home now. Right now. He turned to Abraxas. " Want to go home now please."

"Severus-" The man tried to speak but Severus cut him off. 

"I want to go home now please." He said louder. He knew it was wrong to yell at an adult, he knew it was impolite and that he should say sorry to his grandfather and Abraxas. They were only trying to help him. But he was just so angry at them. So, so angry. He felt like he was going to explode. He hadn't felt like this since his mummy had died and a the pastor at that conducted her service tried to tell his daddy to give him to a children's home because he knew he couldn't support and raise Severus right without a mother. 

He was so angry then too, he had gotten mad and felt the same thing he did now. Like fire was building up inside of him, or a monster that lived in his chest was trying to get out and break free. He had felt his magic building then, wanting to come out, making his skin tingle then burn. That day he had caused all the candles that were lit in the church to blow out and the church to shake with the same anger as now. The only thing that stopped it was his father picking him up and holding him tight. They never went back to church after that. He had known he had scared his father that day too. He felt like that right now too though. 

The glass on the windows began to shake, Severus tried to control his breathing, it was too hard though. There was just so much anger building up for him. He wanted to go home. He would face his father's anger when he got there if it meant he would be away from this man. He didn't want to be here anymore. 

He was about to say something again when the door to the office opened and a man walked in. He took a look at the people in the room, his eyes going to the young boy that seemed to be the source of the shaking of his home. He walked over to him and knelt in front of Severus. "Hey there, how's it going?" The man was nice, soft spoken and gentle with his words. "What's your name?"

Severus looked him in the eyes and felt a calmness wash over him, his anger flowing away from him. The man gripped his shoulders and rubbed them softly. Severus' breath evened out and he felt nice again. He looked into the man's eyes seeing the same color eyes of his mother's staring back at him. The man's face looked like his mother's too. It dawned on him then, this was his uncle. "S-Severus, my name is Severus." 

The man smiled at him, ruffling his hair. "It's nice to meet you Severus, my name is Alexander. What's making you upset here?" The question was asked innocent enough but Severus didn't really want to respond. 

"I would like to go home to my Dad, Mr. Malfoy won't take me though." Severus looked to the side of him, staring at a bookshelf. He didn't want to look at anyone right now. "I just want to go home, will you please take me Mr. Alexander?"  
"Of course I will, if you want me to."

"Yes please."

"Very well then, why don't you say goodbye to Lord Malfoy and Prince."

Severus turned slightly towards them and nodded his head, "Goodbye, and thank you for talking to me." With that he turned to Alexander and followed him out of the study. They walked in silence as they exited the mansion and walked off the grounds. 

"Can you tell me where you live so I can take you there? Otherwise we'll need to take the knight bus." He waited patiently for the answer, in no hurry to go anywhere in particular. 

"I live on Spinner's End." 

"Ah, I know the place you're speaking of, we can apparate right outside of it. You can show me where you live, and I can make sure you get home okay." He held out his hand for Severus to take. He grasped it tight as he felt the tug he did before when he arrived. It was a collage of colors later he found himself down the street from his home. It wasn't that far away. "Lead the way my kind sir." Alexander swept his hand in a dramatic motion and pushed Severus to lead the way. 

They walked in silence, neither feeling like they need to speak. Severus finally came up to the front door to his home. He could see the light on in the kitchen from here, his daddy was home then. there would be trouble if he knew where Severus was today, or who he was with. He looked over to the man, and stopped walking. “I can go from here, I don’t need your help anymore. Thank you for taking me home.” Severus began to walk towards his house but the man was still following him. He stopped again and Looked back at him with frustration. “You can leave now, I know my way home now. Thank you but can you leave now.” 

Alexander didn’t budge though and kept following Severus. “I can see that you know your way home. I just want to make sure you get to your door okay and I would like to have a word with your father.” 

Severus stopped in his tracks and looked up to his uncle. “M-My father doesn't like magic all too much.” He saw the door open and his father step out onto their porch. 

“Severus, get over here now.” His voice wasn’t angry but worried. He was looking at the man standing next to him. He didn’t know him and all he knew was that Severus was talking to a stranger that could hurt him. Severus ran over to his dad , the man catching him and bringing him up to carry him on his hip. He pushed his hair from his forehead and winced when he saw the bruises covering his son’s face. Tobias moved further up his porch and towards his front door. He looked over to the man and nodded towards him. “Who are you? You look familiar.” 

Alexander nodded his head and bowed slightly in acknowledgement. “My Name is Alexander Prince. I would like to have a word with you regarding your son and you. If you’ll have me that is.” 

Tobias looked the man up and down. ‘Prince.’ he thought to himself. Prince was his wife’s maiden name. She was his everything, he knew she had a brother but he had never met him before. “Yeah, I’ll Talk to you.” He opened the door wider, letting the man in behind him. He pointed towards the kitchen with a nod of his head. “Wait in there. I’m getting my son cleaned up.” Alexander nodded and moved into the kitchen. 

Tobias took Severus up the stairs and laid him on the bed in his own room. He treated him like a baby. Stripping him of his clothes and going into his bathroom and starting the bath. Once it was filled he placed his son in it. He washed his body but left his hair alone. There was no need for it. The bath itself took all of ten minutes, after he was done Tobias took his son back into the room and dressed him. He was set in the bed and tucked in. “You’re going to wait right here, you hear me?” Severus nodded his understanding, and with a quick nod to his son he left the room to meet the man who had followed his son. 

Alexander was standing right where he had left him in the kitchen, leaning against the counter by the stove. Tobias gave him a sceptical look and motioned for him to sit at the table. When he was seated, Tobias rounded him, pulling two glasses from the cupboard, filling them with water and handing one to the other man. “You said you wanted to talk to me about my son. What… What exactly about?” there was a lingering pause after he had spoken. 

Alexander leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on the table and linking his fingers together. “I’m more than sure that your son has received his letter inviting him to attend Hogwarts. And by his reaction to me wanting to speak about anything pertaining to magic around you has be believing you did not take it to well.” 

“My son is not going to that school. I don’t want him attending that. Magic...that stuff brings nothing but trouble in my eyes.” Tobias took a sip of his water, really wishing he could have something stronger. He wanted to try not drinking for now though. With this man here, one he knew nothing about, he wanted to have his wits about him. If that meant being sober for the moment then so be it. 

“What exactly is your concern about magic?” Alexander pushed.

Tobias banged his fist on the table suddenly, “Stop saying that word!”

“My apologies, I would like to know what it is you have against it. M-these gifts exist in a small group of people in our world. To deny them is the same as to deny that you need air to breathe.”

“What my son can do is beautiful. His mother taught him some tricks before she passed. How to concentrate it and make something out of nothing. He likes making flowers into crowns the most. I know that girl he plays with has the same… gifts. It is not them I am afraid of or against.” He took a sharp breath and stared down at his hands on the table. “When my wife got sick, I knew she had family that could have helped her. She spoke of her father and mother once or twice. Never spoke of siblings or friends. She had told me of how to get to you world, how to contact you. I sent a message to try and contact someone, a letter to her father, a letter to your hospital. No one came though. I got a letter back from her father, saying that he had no responsibility to her anymore. That she had made her choices, to lay with a filthy muggle. What became of her was of no consequence to him. I tried and I tried to get someone to help when the doctors said there was nothing they could do for her. And when she did pass… a letter from a relative i believe came saying they would more than willing to take my son off my hands. It said that even though he was a lowly half blood from a disowned whore of a pureblood daughter, they would take him. I didn’t even entertain the idea for a millisecond. My boy is all I have in this world now. Magic did nothing to save my wife. No one came to her aid. She and my son are nothing but dirt under a boot in the eyes of the world you live in. I will not allow my son to be tortured like that.” his words held a force behind them, determination. 

“So you keep your son at your side, by force if necessary. Then what? Do not illude yourself into thinking that the bruises and markings are not noticed and seen by others. Either he gets into fights with other boys around the neighborhood, which seems unlikely, or you have marked your boy so. If you love him so much, why would you hurt him so?”

“My son is a good boy. He does as he’s told, he listens. It’s not his fault that he’s stuck with me. I...I have a hard time most days… huh” he chuckled at his words. “I have bad days period. I feel this darkness inside of me, it boils and boils in me. For the most part I can keep a lid on it. Eileen was good at helping it stay at bay, and my boy, my boy is such a kind heart. Drink numbs the pain of being alone, of being a failure to my family. But it does nothing for my control. He-he is always there, so easy to push around, so easy to hit and strike. He listens so readily whatever fire is there in his eyes is gone, and in my own twisted way, I know that this, this right here will keep him to me. If he fears me, then he will stay, he won’t leave me and I won’t be alone.”

There was a silence that enveloped them. “Think about what’s good for your son Mr. Snape. Think of what your son needs. I can understand that you wish for him to stay with you. No parent ever wants their child to grow and leave them. But the way things are right now, the way things are going, this is not what is best for that little child. He needs to learn that there is more to this world than just these four walls of this house, than just your fists and your love. I know for a fact that he loves you with his entire being, but I also that he hold a great amount of fear for you as well. Let him learn what he is, let him learn that there is so much more than what is in front of him. Children that do not learn how to control their magic, that do not find a safe output for it, die slow and painful deaths. I am more than sure you do not wish that upon him."

Tobias nodded. He never wanted his son to be harmed, even when he was the one to harm him. "What can I do?" He didn't know what to do, what to say, what was needed. He didn't know. 

"You can start by allowing him to go to the school, to give him your blessing rather than your contempt." Tobias nodded along with the words. He could try and do that. "Next would be to stop drinking. You seem like a kind man as you are, but drunk, I can see you turn into something you do not care much for. Can you do that?" 

Tobias looked up and into the man's eyes. Could he? It was so hard to go a day without dulling his senses with alcohol. He wanted to though, god did he not want to need something like that to get through the day. "I can try." 

"I asked can you, not if you would try. Will you stop drinking?"

"Yes."

"Good, After that, I would like to sponsor your son through school."

There was a silence that enveloped the again. Tobias had to ask something. He had to know. "You're Eileen's brother aren't you? Or at least you're related to her in some way or another."

"Yes, I am her brother. She and I were close when we were young, and while we were at school. When we became adults though, with our careers and life choices we drifted apart. When she married you, it was out of love. Our father wanted to marry her off to a man half her age older, to for an alliance between our families. As you may know, that didn't work out so well. He disowned her, shunned her from the family. He made it so that none of us could talk to her. I tried to make him see that it was a mistake to do that to her, but he just made it so I could never speak, hear, or see anything related to her. I wasn't even in England when she died, I was in America working. He didn't tell me until I arrived home a year later. I miss her greatly, and If I am able to help you son I wish to. I am the heir to my family with no heirs of my own. I don't want to marry a woman that has no feelings for me. If you would allow it, I would make you son my heir. I would train him to in the ways he needs to learn, prepare him." 

Tobias leaned back in his chair and looked at the man with a knitted brow. Could he let his son go? "Would you take him away to live with you?"

"Yes, I would need to. As my heir, I would become his magical guardian, in the magical world I would have the last say in what ever needs to be done with him. But that does not mean I would take you away from him. A boy needs his father. I would like to offer you a place at my home where you would be close to him. I live in a mixed village that has both my kind and yours. Please consider this.” Alexander placed a card on the table and slid it over to Tobias. It had his name and a phone number printed on it. “I’m a lawyer. I deal with all kinds of people. I work out of my my home. I have more than enough room in my home for you and your son ten times over. Please consider my offer Mr. Snape. I loved my sister more than you will ever know and it hurts to say that I was not able to help her in her time of need. Let me repay her memory by helping the two people she loved more than anything in the world, the two she gave up everything she had for.” Alexander stood and fixed his coat over himself. “I must leave for now. I do hope to hear from you Mr. Snape. -”

“Tobias.”

“What?”

“Please, call me Tobias.”

“Then I must insist you call me Alexander or Alex.”

The two men shook hands and Tobias walked him to the door, closing and locking it behind the man. He leaned his head against it. ‘What am I supposed to do?’ he thought to himself. He went back to his kitchen, grabbing a bottle from the cabinet. He looked down at the liquor. He watched the amber liquid swish back and forth as he shook it. He needed to make a decision, he needed to make it now. He moved over to the table and sat heavily in the old wooden chair with the bottle and a glass sitting in front of him. It felt like he had swallowed rocks and they were sitting heavy in his stomach. The more he looked at the bottle, the more he wanted to toss it across the room. The more he stared at it, the more he hated himself. 

What a selfish man he was. He was so self centered and single minded. God help him. His son feared him when he saw a bottle sitting in front of him or when he smelled like a bar. The child knew what would happen if he stood too close or spoke too loudly. Yet he stood close by, worried for him, he asked if he was okay, tried to help him through his drunken stupor into his bed or even just the couch. For his efforts, he beat his child, hit and punished his child for just being there and being an easy target. 

The bottle before him was wicked thing. He didn’t know if he could do this though. Could he change, could he give up this crutch he had? He would have to. This life, whatever life this was, could not go on the way it was. He needed to do this. If not for himself, than for the child that slept upstairs in his bed. He stood from the table and grabbed the bottle. He held it tightly in his hand and tossed it across the room, making it crash against the wall and shatter on the floor, spilling the amber liquid and glass across the floor. He stalked to the cabinets and started to toss the different bottle of liquor into the sink. Some smashing and shattering while others stood intact. 

By the time he was done, He had gotten a hold of himself. HIs breathing was ragged, short and maybe a little shallow. He could feel his anger grow, and it was directed at himself. He could hide at the bottom of a bottle anymore. When he finally caught his breath he turned to see Severus standing at the entrance of the kitchen staring at him with wide eyes. His son’s eyes wandered the kitchen, looking at the pile of bottles in the sink and the shattered one one the floor. 

“A-Are you okay Daddy?” His voice shook a bit with fear. He didn’t know what was going on. He didn’t know what decision his father had come to. 

Tobias opened and closed his mouth a few times, not sure how to answer. “I-I….” He looked around himself, eyeing the mess he made in his fit. “I thought I would get some cleaning done.”

“It doesn’t look much like cleaning Daddy. It looks more messy than it was a while ago. Do you need help.” As he spoke, his voice rose from a whisper to have more strength behind it. 

“Yeah, yeah, I guess I made more of a mess of the kitchen than it was before.” He raised his hand when Severus made to step inside the kitchen. “No, don’t come in here, There’s glass on the floor. Stay right there. Better yet.”

He went and picked up his son and took him into the living room. When he settled him on the couch on his lap facing him, he began to talk again. “Severus,” he said quietly. “You know I love you more than anything else in this world right?” The boy nodded in understanding. “I love you so so much Severus.”

Severus was a little worried by this. His Daddy told him he loved him often. But why was he talking like this? What was the matter? “Daddy, is something wrong? Did something bad happen?”

Tobias smiled. “No, nothing happened. Nothing is wrong. I just want you to know that I love you.”

“I know Daddy, I love you more than anything too.” 

“I’m glad to hear that Severus.” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “I-I thought about you going to school.”Silence sat between them for a few seconds. Tobias didn’t know how to say this, and Severus didn’t want to interrupt and change whatever his father was thinking. “I know that you want to go to that school, I know that you want to really badly. I can’t say that I’m too happy with you going behind my back to meet that man but I can understand why you did it. You have to understand Severus, I’m scared. I’m scared of you leaving me, and never coming back. You may not understand this too well right now, but the thought of you leaving me, finding out that you don’t need me or that you want better than I can give you is terrifying for me. You’re all i have left in this world.” He drew a deep breath. “But you do deserve better than what I give you. You deserve better than me coming home drunk and hitting you. You deserve the sun, the moon and the stars. You should never have to fear me coming home late and what I’ll do to you. You should never fear your father, you should never be afraid to come home.”

Severus just stared into his father’s eyes. He didn’t know why he was saying these things. “I want you to go to this school Severus. You need to go there and learn all you can about your...gifts.-”

“I don’t want to anymore.” 

“What?”

“I don’t want to go to hogwarts anymore.”

“Why?”

“The-The men I met today, I met mommy’s dad. He- He wanted to take me away from you, he didn’t want me with you. I can’t leave you, not like how those ladies at church wanted me to leave you. You’re my Daddy, I need you and you need me. He’s mean and I don’t want to leave you. I hate him.” 

“Severus, it’s okay to be angry at people, to dislike them, but hate is a very strong word. You don’t throw it around easily. You never have to fear about leaving me. You’re not the adult, I am. I'm supposed to take care of you, not the other way around. Do you understand that?" Severus nodded. "You needed t do what you need to do I will always be by your side, on your team. All you have to do is make the choices you think are best for you. Going to this school is what's best for you Severus."

"But I have to ask him to take me, I don't like him Daddy."  
Tobias smiled, "You don't have to talk to your grandfather about this Severus. The man that came with you earlier, he's...well he's your uncle. He said he would give you a place to stay and sponsor your way through school."

"I don't want to leave you though, I don't want to live somewhere without you." Hugged his dad tight. Squeezing as tight as he could. 

His dad's chest rumbled as he chuckled lightly. "How do you expect to go to your school if you don't want leave me. Are you going to hold my hand all the time at school?" He patted and smoothed out his hair. "Your uncle, Alexander, gave both of us a place to stay in his home. If you want to go to this school, we will make this journey together."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it. I love this story. It's one of my favorites to write. Please leave a comment if you wish. I love hearing from you guys!! Hope to see you soon!!! Bye bye for now! Fighting!!

**Author's Note:**

> So there's the first chapter, I'm sorry for the slow beginning but it had to be done. The next chapter might have more action or what not in it, but you know, where ever the winds take me. Please Review, favorite, and follow. I take any sort of suggestions really.
> 
> And I want you to remember, Severus is still very young and naive. At eleven, he still doesn't know that what happens in his home is truly bad; he knows it's different but thinks it's his fault that he gets hit. He's never had it any different. His father still loves him, but can't really stop himself either, they're caught in a never ending cycle of hurt and pain. Because his Father tells him so, Severus believes it to be his fault, because his father told him. I don't know about you but all the kids I know, including myself, believe what our parents say is true until we reach about thirteen or fourteen. And I know boys that call their fathers Daddy way into their teenage years. I still do, call my mother mama or mommy too.
> 
> So on an ending note, please review, have fun live life and read my stories. Cause you know, you haven't lived until you've done that. (JK) Hope to see you soon, I'll update when I can. For now, *Pumps fist in the air* FIGHTING!
> 
> Summerstar is signing off. Bye Bye.


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